NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ787175
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Mar
Pages: 12
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0361-6843
EISSN: N/A
Intersectional Political Consciousness: Appreciation for Intragroup Differences and Solidarity in Diverse Groups
Greenwood, Ronni Michelle
Psychology of Women Quarterly, v32 n1 p36-47 Mar 2008
This article introduces an intersectional approach to political consciousness and presents data to demonstrate its importance for predicting solidarity in diverse social change organizations. Women activists (N = 174) completed measures of political consciousness, diversity, and solidarity. As expected, women differed in the degree to which their political consciousness reflected "intersectionality" (sensitivity to intragroup differences arising from intersections of social identities, such as ethnicity with gender) and "singularity" (focus on intragroup similarities arising from a shared social identity, such as gender). Although high group diversity related to lower solidarity, the content of political consciousness moderated the negative association of diversity to solidarity. High diversity had a negative association with solidarity only when political consciousness reflected a high degree of singularity and a low degree of intersectionality. These findings challenge the common assumption that diversity undermines a group's ability to work together and suggest that, when appreciation of difference is an important aspect of an individual's identity, solidarity with a social change organization may be greater when group diversity is high rather than low.
Blackwell Publishing. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8599; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: customerservices@blackwellpublishing.com; Web site: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/jnl_default.asp
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A